Get Your Jewels From Gem Shop

Enjoy matching up jewels in this colorful and fun puzzle game.

I like the thought of making money. I also like jewels. I mean, what gal doesn't? so when I spotted Gem Shop on the web, I thought I just had to give it a try. You get a screen with a whole load of different gems (they're more or less the same shapes but it's a ton of different colors: gold, ruby, diamond, topaz, emerald. You have to move the gem stones around to form 3 in a row. Once you have 3 in a row they are knocked out. Knocking them out means you make a sale and you get money in to your bank. The problem is, the only way you can join 3 in a row is by a vertical movement. It is possible to make more than one place move at a time (it doesn't just have to be one spot) but it is only vertical that is allowed.

Getting a Sale in Gem Shop

Moving the gems around to knock them off the board is how you make a customer happy and get a sale in Gem Shop. At first I thought it was going to be real simple, since I was joining 3 in a row easily. But then I got stuck. And that was when I realized (almost too late but not quite) that Gem Shop also requires strategy. You have to think ahead to your next move. It's all very well getting 3 rubies lined up together to knock them off the board, but if you have nothing for your next move, you're screwed. So you have to bear that in mind.

Great Winnings in Gem Shop

Yet even on my first game, at the first level I made $4,310 and by the second level I was up to $12,080 on my sales. It's not just about moving the gems around though - you have to keep the customers happy (as in any good shop) so you have to give them special treats so they stay with you and you get the sale.

Read more »

Have a Great Vacation with Holiday Express

Have fun acting like a Santa playing Holiday Express

If you want Christmas to come every day and you find that come July you're really missing the gaiety, music and happiness in the streets, then you will no doubt really love Holiday Express.  It's also nice - any time of year - to feel like you are bringing presents to people who will love them. But Holiday Express - with its wonderful Christmas music - is a bit more about strategy than Santa.  You get a train and on that train you have to load all your gifts.  It's  not so easy as the game can move fast, especially in Flurry Mode where the clock is ticking.  In Snowy Mode it's much easier as you get more time to fill the train and in this mode you get to really enjoy the fantastic scenery on the longer ride.

Move around the gifts carefully

So before you start just throwing on the gifts (that are on the conveyor belt at the bottom of the screen) in just any old way, make sure that you do so SENSIBLY. Otherwise you'll be stuck in a situation with a whole load of extra gifts that will have to be left behind. You want to try and be as efficient as possible.  So also make the most of the small gifts that are at the bottom left  hand side of the screen ? they can go  into the small places to fill up the gaps.  Use your space bar to rotate the gifts (again making the most of the space you have) and for any that just won't fit, drop them in the gift return.  So even in the middle of July you can enjoy the snow, without having to move to Australia!

Read more »